Volcanic activity observed on the Reykjanes peninsula in Iceland

On the Reykjanes peninsula in southwest Iceland, a volcano has erupted following weeks of strong seismic activity.

The fishing village of Grindavik saw about 4,000 residents evacuated last month.

According to the Icelandic Met Office, the eruption began on Monday at 22:17 local time (22:17 GMT) north of the town.

A local who lives close to Grindavik saw the volcano erupting on Tuesday and described the events as “crazy” and “scary” that evening.

For weeks, Iceland has been prepared for volcanic activity. There have been further earthquakes in the area surrounding the capital, Reykjavik, since late October.

Reykjavik, which is located roughly 42 kilometres (26 miles) northeast of Grindavik, offers views of the eruption.

A witness there told the BBC that smoke was visible pouring into the air and that the eruption was “lit up in red” over half of the sky towards the town.

Experts indicate that they do not anticipate the eruption to cause as much disruption as the one that occurred in 2010 elsewhere in Iceland, which forced the cancellation of flights throughout Europe.

Living in Sandgeroi, some 20 kilometres away from Grindavik, Aoalheiour Halldorsdottir claimed to have witnessed the explosion from her house.

“Seeing that with my own eyes was insane. Although there had been previous volcanic explosions, this was the first time I felt truly afraid, the woman told BBC News.

“We’re used to volcanoes [erupting], but this was crazy.”

She claimed that although there had been some “panic” on Monday night and that she had purchased extra water supplies, things had mostly returned to normal on Tuesday.

Now that I’m at work, I can still see it. She remarked, “I can see the lights in the sky.”

After being evacuated from Grindavik last month, Hans Vera had intended to spend Christmas at home before Monday’s eruption.

He continued: “I don’t see that in the future they will let people get close to Grindavik – so we are back in the waiting game.”

Bjarni Benediktsson, the foreign minister of Iceland, stated on X, the old Twitter platform, that “international flight corridors remain open, and there are no disruptions to flights to and from Iceland.”

“The jets [of lava] are quite high, so it appears to be a powerful eruption at the beginning,” he stated.

The eruption could be seen in Reykjavik from dozens of kilometres away, according to Hallgrimur Indrioason, a reporter for the state-run Icelandic National Broadcasting Service (RUV). He called the scene “quite spectacular”.

BBC